


Queen of the Kingdom

by wolfie22



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU From Season 5, carol leaves after terminus, the kingdom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-15 09:24:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7216825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfie22/pseuds/wolfie22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carol hadn't seen her family since saving them from Terminus, and now it seemed like she'd have to do it again. What happens when the Queen of the Kingdom shows up during the Lucille line-up?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Damnit Rick

The Kingdom was a thriving community during the end of the world. Each member of the gated sanctuary played a vital role in keeping the Kingdom a safe place for humanity to live on.

It had been over a year since Carol Peletier had come to this safe haven, and even longer since she had left her family back in Father Gabriel’s church.

They were celebrating and discussing the future when she noticed that no one was even on guard duty. She had just gotten them all out of Terminus, which was bound to have some survivors looking for revenge, and here they were like sitting ducks in a church.

No one even noticed her slip outside.

They were too happy, too lucky, and something bad was bound to happen. She just couldn’t take it anymore. She’d seen too many loved ones die, and she just needed it to stop.

If she was alone then she didn’t have to worry about losing anyone else. When she died, no one would have to take on the burden of delivering that final stab or shot to the head. She wouldn’t have to watch anyone else turn, or make the kinds of decisions like she had to do with Lizzie.

She would remember them as the smiling, full-bellied, celebrators that she left behind in that church. That was the picture that she’d keep with her. They wouldn’t fall for another Terminus, Rick knew better now and he would lead them to safety.

He’d go wrong, there was no doubt in her mind that they’d lose people along the way, but Rick was a good man and he’d get them to a sanctuary or die trying. She knew that he and Daryl would blame themselves the minute they found her missing, but she made sure to leave a little note tacked to a tree outside to show them that she hadn’t been taken.

It simply said: _please don’t come after me. I love you all. Goodbye._

She could have written a novel to each member of her family, so she thought it best to be short and sweet, so as not to talk herself out of this decision. So she took a car, and she hit the lonely road for as long as the gas would allow.

She had met a few different groups over the months on the road, but tried to avoid getting attached to the good ones. The bad ones she eliminated when she had to, and steered clear of when she could, but there were an awful lot of the bad ones.

One of these bad groups had her pinned to the ground, with bullet wounds in her arm and leg and ready for death when the men from the Kingdom found her. They had taken out the bandits, Daniel had gotten her onto his horse and she woke up in a hospital bed at the Kingdom.

\----

Ezekiel confused her at first. He was a little eccentric with his pet tiger and his self-proclaimed title as King, but he seemed like a genuinely good man and she hadn’t met many of those in a long time.

She avoided staying in one place too long so she wouldn’t have to watch loved ones die, but the loneliness was eating away at her. Ezekiel had seen this in her and he offered her the perfect role. She would join the scouting missions outside the walls.

"You wouldn't have to sleep here every night, most of the men who go out are only here a few days a month," Carol considered this option, "you'd help the community by bringing in new supplies, even new people, and you wouldn't have to be on your own any longer."

She didn’t have to stay in the community every day, but she still got to contribute. She needed to have someone watching her back again, and having an occasional roof over her head with walls for protection would be a nice change, so she accepted his offer.

The six men that went with her quickly developed a strong respect for Carol. If her people were injured, she had the medical knowledge to get them patched up and sent home. If the dead ones came, she could take them with deadly accuracy and without blinking an eye. She was quite adept at dealing with the living as well. This could mean killing them or negotiating with them, but either way she usually came out on top.

They had met Paul “Jesus” Rovia on one of these runs and the trading system with the Hilltop was established. The trades were an excellent way to keep a steady supply of different foods coming into the Kingdom, and it helped that the Hilltop had weapon makers to provide protection.

The day Jesus showed up at the Kingdom talking about a man named Negan and his men, Carol and Ezekiel knew that they had to prepare. Jesus had described what had happened to a kid in their community when their leader said no to Negan’s demands, and that they now had to give half of their supplies to the Saviors every month.

The Kingdom wasn’t going to bow to the demands of Negan and his Saviors. They set up more watch duties and tried to keep anyone not in Carol’s scouting group inside of the walls. The citizens of the Kingdom knew what could happen, but they wouldn’t allow someone to scare them out of everything they had built. The Hilltop needed help and Carol had promised Jesus that once they could get some more fighters, and do some recon on Negan and his men, they would help his community out of this deal.

\---------

When Negan and his saviours eventually came knocking at the doors to the Kingdom, they quickly learned that this was one group that wouldn’t give in so easily.

The gates were sealed the minute that the watchtower guards had noticed the incoming men. One woman had been outside foraging and had become collateral damage as a result.

Usually the Saviors would trade protection from the dead and the living for…well whatever the fuck they wanted. Some groups had to deliver food, medicine, weapons or whatever else Negan wanted, whenever Negan wanted. The Saviors would make sweeps around to these groups and make sure that the dead weren’t closing in, and that everyone was staying in line.

Negan assumed that this is what would happen at the Kingdom as well, “come out, come out!”

He yelled at the closed gates, “I have a friend of yours out here and she’s about to show you what happens when you ignore me,” a lone figure appeared on top of the gate, but she didn’t speak, merely pointed her gun at the Saviors.

“Nothing?” he placed the bat next to the kneeling woman’s head, “you’re not even going to try and negotiate or anything? Well then,” he bashed in the skull of the young woman to show the gated community that he meant business.

“Now tell whoever runs this place, the King of the Kingdom, that this is what is going to happen every time we show up and you don’t deliver.”

He gave his orders that they now had to give up half of their food and that his men would be back every month for more. He warned that the gates wouldn’t hold forever and that someone had to come outside eventually, and they’d be found.

Instead of obeying his orders as everyone else did, Carol killed eleven of his men.

Shooting at a group was a lot easier than trying to shoot one woman who had quite a few hiding spots along the ramparts of the wall. After realizing what they were dealing with, Negan called off his men, “Ok, ok we get it! Come out here so we can talk.”

The five remaining men lowered their weapons and Carol disappeared for a moment before the gates were opened just enough for her to squeeze through, “Negan, I presume?” she asked calmly as the gates sealed behind her once again.

“Seems you have me at a disadvantage, darlin’, you know my name but I don’t know yours,” the man had a devilish smile as he approached her.

“Carol,” she answered, “and this is my home, so what can I help you with?”

“So you’re the Queen of the Kingdom, hmm?” he gestured to the remains of Lucille’s newest victim, “well, your majesty, I just beat the holy hell out of one of your subjects, and it’s gonna happen again if you don’t start listening.”

Carol gestured to the dead Saviors near her feet, “and this will happen again if _you_ don’t listen.”

Negan was intrigued. Most men wouldn’t stand up to him like this and this tiny woman was speaking to him like he was a child, “you can kill me right now, yell at the gates until your throat is raw, but no one is coming out. So unless you plan to beat down the gates and kill everyone inside, I suggest we come to some sort of agreement.”

It was abundantly clear to Negan that every time the Saviors would show up, people on both sides would die. Negan was a smart man and he knew that it was pointless to send his men to the Kingdom if it would just result in causalities each time. He knew that he could go in and kill them all, or burn the whole Kingdom to the ground, but then it’d just be another empty base. The whole point of these scare tactics was to get people to work for him and give him supplies. They couldn’t grow him food if he wrecked their community and they couldn’t work for him if they were all dead.

So, neither wanting to lose anymore people, a deal was struck. They wouldn’t fuck with each other.

The people inside the walls of the Kingdom were off limits to the Saviors, and the Saviors were off limits to Carol and the others.

Carol knew what Negan did. She also knew what living in this new world meant. It meant you couldn’t save everyone. They had managed to save a few wandering groups before Negan got to them, but they had also come upon the remains of quite a few of Lucille’s victims.

Until they could get Negan alone, they had no chance of taking him out. If they could kill Negan, the Saviors would get sloppy and be much easier to pick off. Those he had scared into submission, would be free and those who followed him for fun, would die.

Thanks to their deal, the Kingdom was off-limits so her new family was safe. So she stayed in the Kingdom, worked with the Hilltop to come up with a plan, and tried to forget her old family.

But she missed them, Oh god did she miss them.

\--------

When Jesus showed up a few months later with news that another group would join their efforts against Negan, Carol was thrilled, but that feeling lessened as he told her more.

“They’re good people. One of the women who came with them is pregnant, they need supplies so we’ve promised them some food and medicine in return for their help,” Jesus explained.

“Do they have any ideas? We need to figure out a way to get him on his own, divide and conquer” Carol was excited, it had been a long time since someone new had expressed interest in standing up to Negan. Most groups were too scared to even speak on the subject.

“Rick said they’ve never had a problem confronting people before, I think he has a plan already worked out. They haven’t met Negan, but he sent those wolves into their town. They managed to kill most of them,” Jesus noticed her eyes widen in surprise, she had encountered the Wolves before and they were savage. These people definitely had potential if they stopped a wolf attack.

“I told him to wait since there were others who wanted to fight, but he took a group of his people to one of the drop points…”

“So they’ve never met Negan?” at Jesus’s nod she continued, “and now they’re going into one of the warehouses that is packed with Saviors?”

She started grabbing weapons, “do they have a death wish? Taking out the wolves was on their territory, this is walking right into one of the Saviors’ houses.”

Carol was putting on her armour as Jesus continued to speak, “This was a couple days ago, I rode down as soon as they left, but you’ll never stop them now.”

“I know I can’t stop them, but we both know Negan doesn’t like people killing his men so I gotta get them behind these gates before he goes looking for them,” she stuffed another gun in her boot and started out of her house towards the stables.

When her men got to the stables she turned back to Jesus, “So quick descriptions, who is it I’m looking for?”

“Well the leader is Rick Grimes, and I think his second is Daryl, think he said his last name was Dixon, uses a crossbow, or it could be Glenn. There was a woman named Maggie, but she’s pregnant so I doubt they’d have her in this fight, big ginger guy named Abraham, woman named Michonne….”

Jesus continued to list out members of her family, but it fell on deaf ears. The second the heard Rick's name she knew they were all in trouble.

“Fuck,” all of the men in the room turned to stare at her strange reaction, but she just waved it off.

The only thought in her mind as they rode through the gates of the town was _goddamnit, Rick. What the hell did you get into now?_


	2. Family

“Eenie, meenie, miney, moe…”

The childish rhyme had never sent such fear through the body as it did at this moment. The leather-clad Negan seemed love swinging his bat to pick a victim. He relished seeing the fear in their eyes.

And they could do nothing.

They were outgunned and outnumbered, and there was no way of getting home unscathed. Not until Negan let them go.

Helpless. That was the feeling.

Rick watched as his family was threatened, one by one. He could do nothing but hope and pray that the bat didn’t land on Carl. He could die knowing that his son was alive and with the people that he considered family, but Rick knew that he would crack if Carl didn’t survive.

The barbed-wire came back into view as Negan began his second verse, “catch a tiger by the toe…”

“NEGAN!”

The man in question stopped his little game as a malicious smile spread over his face and he turned to look at the new arrivals.

“Well if it ain’t the queen herself, what brings you out of your kingdom today, hmm?”

Rick tried to crane his neck to see the new players, but all he could see was five figures on horses. There was a hooded person riding in front with two armoured men on either side. The horses were loaded with weapons and bags and the riders all carried spears, making them a fearsome sight.

“These people are under my protection, Negan,” A strong, steady voice rang out through the small clearing. A voice that Rick hadn’t heard in over a year.

His head snapped up and looked down the line to lock eyes with Daryl who had clearly recognized the voice as well. The feeling of helplessness lifted ever so slightly. The last time they had been up shit creek without a paddle, Carol had come to their rescue, and it seemed like she was going for a repeat performance.

“Carol?” Daryl’s voice was soft at first, but became frantic when he realized that he wasn’t dreaming, “Carol, what are you doing here? Go! Run!”

Some of the saviours began to laugh at Daryl’s pleas, but Rick noticed that Negan did not join in. Instead, he swung Lucille back onto his shoulder and signalled to his men to back down from the newcomers and cover the lineup instead. The man with the burnt face sent a kick to Daryl’s side, stopping his attempts at getting Carol’s attention.

“Under your protection,” Negan moved closer to Carol and her men, “were they under your protection when they killed a shit ton of my men?”

“Was that before or after you sent your wolves into their town?” Carol dismounted her horse and walked towards the man with no fear in her eyes, it clearly was not the first time that these two had met.

“Ah shit, ya got me there sweetheart,” he gestured towards the lineup with the bat again, “but these fuckers weren’t in the Kingdom, we know the deal.”

“They’re not from the Kingdom, but they’re my family,” Carol finally got a good look at the family that she had left behind all those months ago. The picture of the smiling family that she had kept in her mind was immediately shattered and replaced with the sight before her. They looked utterly defeated.

Carol had never seen Negan put this much theatrics into a killing before. Normally, if a group turned away the Saviors, Negan would show up with Lucille and new members would be added in under an hour. The most Carol had ever come across was twenty, but this time there had to be a hundred or more men surrounding her family. The lights pointing to the clearing, setting it up like a stage, with a beating being the main attraction.

Rick must’ve really pissed this guy off.

Ever since Negan’s first visit to the Kingdom he had some strange fascination with her. He had taken to calling her the Queen of the Kingdom, and had been unnervingly interested in her since she killed his men and ordered him to leave.

People didn’t order Negan to do anything. People bowed to Negan, and then people died.

That’s how it had always been, but she was different.

Most people tried to be brave, like Rick, but in the end they always realized just how fucked they were, and they gave in, and he got more followers. Negan was a monster, and though she hadn’t always been able to stop him from introducing Lucille to unsuspecting victims, this time she was pretty sure she could.

“Your family?” Negan turned back to his victims, “how do you know my new friend Rick, hmm?”

Before she could answer a young man from Negan’s group jumped forward and grabbed her from behind. She could see her kneeling family begin to struggle as a knife was shoved to her throat.

The men from the Kingdom hadn’t moved, but Rick and Daryl’s voices became jumbled with the others from the line as they begged for her to be released and for her men to help.

“Come on boss, enough of this uppity bitch,” he trailed the knife down her neck slowly, “seems to me we got some grade-A ladies here and we ain’t doing nothing about it.”

“Aw fuck,” Negan bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as he ignored the man and spoke to Carol, “he’s new, and clearly he hasn’t been told the rules.”

Carol hadn’t flinched through this whole ordeal. She let out a sigh as she flicked her wrist allowing a small knife to slide into her palm. A second later she felt a slight sting on her neck as the man fell to the ground with the knife imbedded in his eye.

“Fucking idiot,” Negan turned to his men, “get him outta here,” two men came forward and dragged the body out of the clearing.

“Sorry about that darling, fucker got ya didn’t he?” He moved a hand to her neck to examine the slight cut, “my men know the rules, especially when it comes to women. We don’t take nothing that isn’t offered.”

Carol oved back a little and wiped the small amount of blood from her neck where the knife had nicked her as the man fell, “it’s nothing, let’s get back to the matter at hand shall we?”

Negan let out a boisterous laugh and turned to his men, “woman almost gets her throat slit and doesn’t even blink. Always a pleasure to see you in action sweetheart.”

“I’m so glad I can entertain you.”

“Well judging by the way Rick here was begging for ya life, and the little show that Daryl decided to put on the second her heard ya, I’m gonna assume they really are your family,” he gestured with the crude weapon again, “hell you even got the kid to give a shit, and I was starting to think he was mute!”

“I’ve known them since the beginning, got separated a long while back," she looked to Carl with a smile, "his mom was my best friend."

It was then she noticed Maggie struggling to stay upright, “shit, Negan, you gotta let her lie down, please.”

Carol moved back to the armoured men and grabbed a bag from one of the loaded horses. She slowly approached her family again, “I need to look her over, please. I know she wasn’t your pick, you’d never pick her when she looks this sick. She can't stay up like this."

Maggie was turning green, and sweating more with every passing second. Negan looked bored as he gave Carol a nod and gestured for her to go ahead, "move outta the way!" 

She hurried to Maggie’s side, “hey, you gotta lie back ok?”

She lowered Maggie to the ground and placed her hands on the pregnant woman’s stomach, “you’re gonna be just fine, ok? I need you to breathe really deep for me Maggie. We need to make sure little baby Rhee is alright.”

Rick and the others looked on in shock as Negan and his men let her work away. They seemed to know each other, and even scarier, they seemed almost friendly.

“Sure you don’t want me to put her out of her misery? Could make the whole situation easier,” Negan walked closer until he was standing right over Carol’s shoulder, “take her out quick before she dies and turns.”

Glenn started struggling against his captors again, but Carol was quick to shut that down, “Glenn, she’s going to be fine. Trust me, please.”

Negan just chuckled again as he strolled up and down the line-up continuing his whistling and scare tactics.

Carol looked though her medical bag until she found the right concoction of drugs that she was looking for. She coaxed Maggie into swallowing a few different pills, dissolved some sort of powder in a water bottle, shoved the bottle into Abraham’s hands, and told the man to make her drink the entire thing very slowly.

Maggie clutched Carol’s hand tighter as the woman moved to get up, “thank you,” the whispered rasp was followed by another, “s’good to see you.”

With a watery smile Carol gave the young woman a kiss on the forehead, and after a quick squeeze to Rick’s shoulder, she got up and walked back to Negan, “thank you for letting me look at her.”

Negan slung his arm around her shoulder, “well you were right, she wasn’t my pick and it’s no fun if one of ‘em dies without any help from Lucille now is it?”

“I know the routine,” she moved away from the man so she could look him directly in the eyes, “I’m here to bargain.”

“This one is gonna be tough, your highness. These fuckers have killed a lot of my men and they need to know just how serious we are around here. Can’t just let them off, they won’t learn,” he walked over to Rick and placed Lucille on his shoulder, “people need to learn.”

“Daryl’s injured, Maggie needs to be on bedrest, her husband isn’t going to do anything to risk her or the baby,” she gestured to the circle of armed men, “you’ve successfully scared them, Negan. I’ve been with Rick, Daryl and Glenn since the day this started and I’ve never seen them like this. They understand.”

“Let them come back to the Kingdom with my people,” she walked to Negan, “you know they won’t be a problem anymore,” she stood facing the man with a kneeling Rick between them. She was trying her best to avoid any eye contact and drown out their whispered pleas for her to run.

“So I’m just supposed to let them all go, out of the goodness of my heart?” the sickening smile returned, “now we both know that ain’t gonna happen.”

“See it’s gonna take something big for all of these fuckers to go free,” Negan leaned down to speak to Rick, “what do you think, Rick? What should I make our friend Carol here give me?”

Rick Grimes felt tears welling in his eyes as he looked up at Carol. The last time he saw her, she had returned his watch and he had asked her forgiveness. He thought they were good, but then she disappeared.

“Just stop this,” Rick was tired. He just wanted this nightmare to end, “let her go back with her people. This is our fault.”

Negan straightened up with a laugh, “let her go? You see me stopping her? The Queen can get on her horse right now and ride on outta here with her men and we ain’t gonna do a damn thing about it.”

He moved up the line again, stopping near Maggie this time “ya see Carol here killed a nice few of my men too, but she didn’t sneak into one of our compounds and murder people in their sleep like a fucking coward,” he emphasized the last word by harshly slamming Lucille into the ground near Maggie and Abraham.

“She had the balls to face me and my men“, he pointed Lucille at Carol, “and I fucking respected that. I could’ve gone back with fifty men and burned the place to the ground, but then I would’ve lost more men, and still have gained nothing, so what’s the good in that?”

The devilish smile returned, “See we don’t fuck with her majesty or her people, and they don’t fuck with us, mutual agreement.”

He had moved down the line so that he was standing next to Glenn, “You good friends with Carol?”

Glenn nodded, but when Negan cupped his ear and leaned in closer he managed to choke out a response, “Yes. We’ve been through everything together. We’re family.”

“Well that’s good news for you, son,” he placed Lucille on Glenn’s shoulder and spoke to Carol, “this one was my pick today, he tried to make a big scene earlier, really pissed me off. So what are you willing to do for your family, Carol?”


	3. A plan in motion

Carol looked down the line once more, Rick, Carl, Daryl, Glenn, they had stared this whole journey together. They were the last ones remaining from their little quarry camp back when she was too scared to even speak up for herself or even hold a gun.

Glenn was her brother. He had always been there for her, especially during the difficult times at the farm. She could save him, and not a second passed before she knew that she would, “what do you want?”

“Well now that’s a good question,” he gently tapped Lucille against Glenn’s shoulder as he pretended to think, “I think I need a life for a life, that’s only fair, right?”

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Daryl’s voice cut through the others as the implications of Negan’s words became clear, “trade Glenn for me, leave her outta it!”

“Awww,” Negan moved towards Daryl, “ain’t that sweet. Maybe that’s a good idea, what d’you say, Carol?”

“Don’t!” she lurched forward as he swung the bat back, “Negan! My life for his right? That’s the deal? Done!”

She was standing in front of Daryl now, but she was staring at Negan, “kill me if you want, just let them go back to the Kingdom with my men.”

Negan stepped around Daryl, slung his arm over Carol’s shoulder and walked her away from the lineup, “kill you? No, no, no, you got me all wrong,” he gestured back to Glenn, “kill him, yeah, but kill you? Why would I do that?”

“You said a life for a life, Negan. I intend to save my family,” Carol stepped back from his touch, “just tell me what you want.”

“You,” was his simple response, “not dead, you working for me,” he stepped closer again and gently ran his hand down her face, “working _with_ me.”

Carol felt a shiver of revulsion run down her spine, “and be one of your little wives?” she scoffed.

“No, no, you’re gonna be my only wife,” the sickening smile returned.

Carol looked back at her broken family. She had never seen them like this before. They were defeated, and they knew it.

“Fine,” Carol stuck out her hand, “you’ll let them take the RV and go with my men? Let them stop at their town and grab some things they need? Right now?”

Negan grasped her hand and shook it, signifying that the deal was made, “say goodbye and tell em to go.”

Carol turned back to Daniel and quickly hugged him to conceal the whispered instructions, “trust them, tell them I have a plan. This is the opportunity we’ve talked about, I’ll be fine.”

“Be safe,” Daniel answered, “Love you.”

Carol ran back to her family who were now standing. The armed men were still surrounding them, giving them no chance to break the deal and flee, “Go with them, please. They’ll help.”

“Carol,” Rick’s voice broke as he tried to speak to her. He was clutching Carl with all of the strength he had, but the young man immediately ran into her arms once she got close, “I missed you.”

Carol lifted his chin so she could inspect his face. There was no protest as she gently lifted the bandage to check the damage to his eye, “you’re alright?”

Carl nodded and drew her close again, “we got a great doctor….had a great doctor,” Carol didn’t miss the change in tense, but chose not to address it.

Rick joined the hug, crushing Carol to him, “thank you, just thank you…I—he—please be safe, we’re gonna get you back, I promise you.”

“Judith?” was her immediate question.

“She’s safe with friends in Alexandria.”

Carol let out relieved sigh, “You focus on getting her to the Kingdom, stay there. Don’t argue, I can get myself out of this, don’t risk a rescue!”

She moved to Maggie and Glenn, “when you get to the Kingdom tell Ezekiel you’re staying in my house, ok? I have a ton of rations hidden in a bag in my closet. You’ll get lots anyway, but it’s always good to have extra when you’re eating for two. Plus I’ve got some treats stashed away from scavenging runs and I’m sure you’ll get a craving for chocolate sooner than later,” she wiped the sweaty hair from Maggie’s forehead, “stay in bed, you hear me?”

Glenn hauled her to him, “Thank you. I’ve missed you so much, Carol. I love you, please be careful, we’ll come for you.”

“You’ll do no such thing! You stay put,” she turned to Maggie, “don’t you let him leave your side to go on some foolish mission, ok?”

“Come on your majesty!” Negan’s voice boomed out as Maggie smiled sadly and nodded, “wrap it up!”

A man she had never met thanked her profusely as she was hugging Sasha. Eugene, Abraham and Rosita quickly thanked her, but it fell on deaf ears and she moved to Daryl.

“Don’t do it,” he whispered as he pulled her into the one hug that she craved, “don’t leave again, please.”

Carol rested her forehead against his, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

She never realized how much she had truly missed him until this moment. Even with everything that was happening around them, the second his arms closed around her, she felt safe. Safer than any wall in the Kingdom could ever make her feel. He felt like home.

She was going to make it back to him.

“There’s a great doctor in the Kingdom, you’ll be all healed up when I get back,” she whispered, “I don’t plan to be gone for long this time, Pookie.”

She smiled but felt the tears welling as he spoke, “stay safe.”

“I still got a couple of those nine lives left,” she placed a gentle kiss on his lips, “I’ll be back, Daryl, I promise you. Don’t fight with Daniel and the others, don’t come running after me, ok?”

She felt the hand close around her arm, “Time’s up.”

Daryl grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on her palm. She held tight, but her hand slowly slid from his as Negan dragged her away.

\---

Carol stood next to Negan as her family climbed into the RV one by one. There were looks of relief on their faces, but it was mingled with sadness. She had saved them again, but this time it was at great personal cost.

Daniel hitched Carol’s horse to his own and gestured for the RV to follow. She saw Abraham return the wave and the RV turned to pull out of the clearing. She refused to look as they drove past, not wanting to see any sad faces that may appear in the windows.

“Let’s get going, darling,” Negan grabbed her hand and dragged her towards a truck.

Carol knew what she had to do. She recalled a conversation from a long time ago, back when they were living in the prison and trying to solve the problem with the Governor. She had told Andrea to give him the best night of his life, and then end it.

That’s exactly what she planned to do.

\----

“We gotta go now!”

It had been twelve hours since Carol was taken and the group was trying to come up with a plan. The newcomers were welcomed into the Kingdom with open arms. If Carol had given herself up for these people, than they must be worth it.

Similarly to when they had arrived in Alexandria, the group refused to be separated. They were led to Carol’s house and began setting up sleeping arrangements that would keep everyone close together. Sleep came to only a few, and the second the sun rose, Daryl and Rick were on the move to find Daniel and Ezekiel so they could develop a plan.

Now they found themselves back at Carol’s house with a large group of fighters from the Kingdom.

“Daryl, right?” Daniel moved closer to the angry man, “we’ve been working with the people from the Hilltop to take out Negan long before you guys showed up and I’m not going to let you walk in here and ruin it!”

The people of the Kingdom had been preparing for this for a long time, but they knew that this was not the right time to strike.

He moved to Rick, “Carol told me I could trust all of you, was she right?”

Rick nodded, “we have to think of something, she went with him for us! We owe her. She’s our family”

“Listen, I know you care about her but don’t act like we don’t care too,” Daniel was getting annoyed by the newbies trying to run this operation, “that’s my sister out there, and she specifically told me to wait!”

“Carol has a plan,” Daniel made the newcomers sit, “right before she left she told me that she had it under control. We’ve been trying to get Negan on his own for months now but he never goes out without some of the Saviors. Without him, they’ll fall apart.”

“She’s gonna take them out from the inside,” Michonne smiled.

“We’re sending parties to different compounds to wait for a signal,” another of the kingdom guards explained, “I know you don’t want to wait, but if you know Carol, then you know now pissed off she’s going to be if you run off after her, get hurt, and ruin her plan.”

Daryl couldn’t argue with that.

“Me and Luke are taking a group of three to what we call _the headquarters_ , we’re thinking that’s where Negan would’ve taken her,” Daniel didn’t get to finish asking for volunteers before hands were raised.

“If that’s where you think she is, I’m going,” Daryl would not be talked out of this one, and neither would Rick.

“Carol has saved me twice now, let’s go,” Rosita joined the group as Rick and Daryl immediately shot down Glenn’s request.

“She’ll kill you if she knows you left Maggie,” Glenn didn’t like the idea of being sidelined, but they were right, “stay and take care of her, she doesn’t need the extra stress of knowing you’re outside the walls.”

Carl’s request was immediately shot down as well, and though the boy argued, no one was willing to let him leave the walls. Aaron, who had never met Carol, joined Michonne, Sasha and Abraham in other watch parties.

“I still don’t see why we gotta wait a week, seems too long,” Daryl had found her and lost her again all in an hour, and now as every day passed he felt like she was getting further away again.

“Carol always has a plan, and we need to give her time to carry it out,” Ezekiel came into the room, and moved to stand near Daniel, “she’ll send a signal, and we have to be ready to go get her once we receive it.”

They finally all agreed that if none of the groups had heard or seen anything in six days they would regroup at the Kingdom and move in with a rescue mission. The two groups sat in the living room to figure out what would happen if they didn’t hear from Carol in time.

“Wait,” Abraham stood from his chair after a few moments and turned to look at Ezekiel, “is that a fucking tiger?! Why do you have a fucking tiger?”


	4. Escape

Carol was confused.

When they got to the compound, Negan had shown her to her room and left. After checking that she was locked in, she inspected her surroundings and found nothing to suggest that this was also Negan’s room. A bed, a desk, a random assortment of books thrown haphazardly on a shelf, and a small window that was too high up to show anything other than the tops of trees, were her only companions.

She had heard stories about his wives and she assumed that she’d be shoved into a room with a bunch of other women. Apparently he liked to take women and then use their wellbeing to keep their husbands, fathers, brothers etc, in line.

He also used the men’s lives to convince the women to sleep with him. 

When he said that she was going to be his only wife, she felt a sense of dread. She knew that she would probably have to share a bed with this man in the very near future, but she had done worse. She had survived far worse than this, and she’d probably go through more if she made it out alive.

So she sat on the bed and she waited, and waited, but no one came to collect her.

As she waited, her mind began to race. What if he was gone after the RV? What if he was going to go back on his word and take all of his men back to the Kingdom?

She knew he wouldn’t. They had discussed the uselessness of destroying each other long ago. He wanted people to work for him, he wasn’t a farmer and he wasn’t going in search of aspirin or bandages when someone else could do it for him.

Negan would keep his end of the bargain, but she knew Rick well enough to know that he was going to do something stupid. Rick and Daryl were not going to let this situation go without some sort of retaliation.

She had proven time and time again that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but those boys would still come to save her. She could almost hear them arguing with Ezekiel and the others about making a plan, but hopefully they’d give her time to end it first.

The thoughts ran through her head as she refused to fall asleep, and eventually the sun rose.

She was startled from her thoughts by a knock on the door, it opened a second later to reveal a man with a tray of food, “breakfast,” he grunted, “boss said to tell you he’d be down later.”

The tray was placed on the rickety desk and the man promptly exited despite her questions.

Well at least they were feeding her. 

She sighed and ate the sandwich and fruit and wondered what poor soul had paid for these items.

She moved the desk towards the window and attempted to see outside, but it was still too high. So she paced, and she flicked through the small selection of books, and she paced some more.  She felt trapped, she hadn’t felt like this in a long time. That claustrophobic feeling was slowly creeping up on her as the hours passed, and she was beginning to sweat.

She didn’t like feeling helpless, so she sat and she focused on her plan.

Hours passed and finally another knock sounded, this time followed by a voice, “may I come in, your majesty?”

Carol took a deep breath and prepared herself, “well it’s your room, so I guess you can do what you want.”

The door swung open with a laugh and Negan waltzed inside, “oh sweetheart, this ain’t my room,” he shut the door behind him and gave her a wink, “you’ll see that soon enough though.”

Carol rolled her eyes and sat on the bed as he walked up to her, “sorry about leaving you all alone last night,” he sat down next to her and patted her arm, “I wasn’t completely sure that those boys of yours were going to go home, so I had to set up some safety measures. This is our main compound, nothing but my best, brightest and most brutal here, they’re ready for a fight.”

“My men know not to fuck with the Saviors,” she inched away from him, “and they are more than capable of handling Rick and his group. Plus, I haven’t seen Rick for over a year, he’s not going to risk lives right after a show like you just put on.”

Ngan let out a mix between a scoff and a laugh, “well now that’s a load of bullshit and you know it.”

“They’ll honour the agreement, Ezekiel and the people of the Kingdom wont let them do anything stupid,” she was staring him down now, “so if they do decide to come it’ll be without backup, and I’ll simply go to the gate and tell them to leave.”

“And they’ll listen wont they?” Negan’s voice softened and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer, “why is that, hmm? Why do people always listen to you?”

Carol was stiff as a board as he leaned in closer to whisper in her ear, “so strong, so fearless,” he pulled back and stood, grasping her hand and hauling her to her feet as well, “that’s why you’re mine now.”

He pulled her into a bruising kiss. It was rough and Carol tried to shut off her mind. She had learned to retreat into her own mind long ago, it was a skill you never forgot. He was speaking to her between kisses, promises that the other women were gone and that she would be a new queen now. The saviors already knew that she was to be obeyed, and soon she would join them on their runs and help them take what they were owed.

“I think it’s time you did see my room, hmm?” Negan’s smile was one that could break hearts. He was attractive, there was no denying that, but the devil is known to hide behind a pretty smile.

Carol had dealt with the devil’s smile far too many times in her life, and as she allowed him to lead her to another room, she made a silent vow to herself that this would be the last time. She’d make him happy, she’d get him off his guard, and then she’d wipe that smug smile off of his face.

\---  
The window in Negan’s room was at a much better height and Carol stood staring at the moonlight while Negan snored contently from the bed. She could see the garage where they stored the best vehicles, and the gas cans. She had mentally mapped the halls and knew the closest exit that would lead her straight to her signal. She didn’t have a signal in mind before, but looking at her target she was pretty sure that setting this place on fire would work pretty well.

It took four nights before she was sure enough to complete her task, but she knew that there was no guard tonight, and there had been wine before bed. Negan was normally a fairly light sleep, as Carol had learned on her firs night in the compound, but with the addition of alcohol, she knew that this was her best bet for taking him out in his sleep.

Why couldn’t Andrea do this all those years ago? The Governor wouldn’t have been a problem and Andrea could have lived. A lot of people could have lived. Then again, maybe taking a life wasn’t such an easy decision for Andrea.

The fear of killing had caused her to run from her loved ones, and here she was, ready to kill for them again.

It never ended.

If she let him live, she’d be trapped and people would continue to be harassed by the Saviors. Daryl and Rick would come, she was surprised that they weren’t recklessly trying to break in already, and they’d be taken out quickly. Death would just keep coming.

Her soul was stained enough, another mark wouldn’t do any damage. This stain she would wear as a badge of pride.

Lucille was on the nightstand where she stayed every night, and Carol had been thinking about how satisfying it would be to beat in his skull with his own weapon of terror, but it was impractical. She needed this to be quick and quiet. She knew about the gun in the drawer, he took it from his belt and placed it there every night before bed, but the shot would ring out and draw the other men.

She had started sewing knives into her clothing a long time ago. The Saviors had confiscated a couple of the more obvious ones, like the one in her sleeve that had killed the young man in the clearing, but she had one small blade within the lining of her combat boot that was virtually undetectable.

She quietly ripped the knife from the seam of her boot and approached the sleeping man. She needed to be quick, one slice to the carotid and he’d bleed out fast.

She simultaneously placed one hand over his mouth as the other swiftly jabbed the knife into his neck and sliced. She jumped to straddle him as began to twitch and struggle to fight back. His strength drained rapidly and after a few more well-placed jabs, the leader of the Saviors took his last, shuddering breath.

\--

Carol was bloody and panting, and shocked to find herself crying. After taking a few well needed moments to calm down, she got ready to send her signal.

People from the Kingdom would definitely be out watching for any kind of sign, and she knew that this compound was one that the Kingdom new about. They had designated it _‘headquarters’_ since Negan was spotted here most often, so she was sure a scouting party would come to her aid once they knew the deed was done.

She looked through every drawer or shelf she could find and wasn’t disappointed by her discoveries. She’d found two small handguns, a few different knives, three gas lamps that still held fuel, quite a few packs of matches, and a lighter.

Once she made sure that the coast was clear, she set the bed on fire with the gas lamps placed in the center. She took off running through the compound and towards her goal of the small garage that stored the trucks and gas.

She knew there would be guards outside, so when she neared her exit she waited for the bang of the exploding lamps and the accompanying commotion of Saviors rushing to figure out what was wrong.

The door to her left opened and three armed men ran in, it was time to test her acting skills, “Someone is attacking near the back, GO! They shot something through our window, Negan needs all the men he can get! GO NOW!”

It only took a few moments for the men to snap to attention and begin running in the direction she had specified. They never failed to listen to her. The long-standing truce with the Kingdom and Negan’s new fascination and approval, meant that the men here knew she was to be respected.

With most of the Saviors heading towards the fire, Carol barred the door behind her and took off outside, heading for the trucks. The gas cans weren’t hard to find, so she piled as many as she could against the door and left a trail of gas in her wake as she ran from the building once again. She was glad she didn’t have to be quite as inventive as she had been at Terminus, but she was sure the result would be the same.

As she held the burning match, she thought about the people still in the compound. Negan had called them his best, which meant they were likely the cruelest of his band of Saviors. They were the ones that would seek revenge, and continue with the trades and terror. By eliminating a big chunk of his most loyal followers, the plan may work.

Those who were terrified into submission could be free, and communities like the Hilltop wouldn’t have to work twice as hard for half their supplies anymore.

 _This was a good thing_ , she thought as she dropped the match and jumped into the truck, speeding away from the humungous fireball growing behind her.


	5. Home

A light flicked on, and a light flicked off.

Guards changed. Men drove off in trucks, and came back a few hours later.

More flickering lights, more people moving around.

Watching people was fucking boring.

The group had seen nothing suspicious during their watch so far. Daniel and Luke still seemed pretty sure that this is where Carol would be, and since none of the other groups had come reporting, they continued to wait.

They stayed far enough away from the compound so that they could have plenty of time to move in case they saw some of the Saviors heading their way. The binoculars were passed around and the small group tried to take notice of every small element around the compound.

Mainly they just saw people coming and going, nothing seemed suspicious. The place looked well stocked with vehicles and gas, and every person they saw was heavily armed so there was no shortage of weaponry either. The flicking lights meant that the building must have some sort of generator system, but that was about all they could get from this simple reconnaissance mission.

 When Daryl joined Rosita for their shift he noticed that the lights began to flick off one by one, signalling that most of the occupants were calling it a night. The waiting and hoping was killing him, he just wanted some sort of indication that she was in there, alive.

If Negan had decided to bash in her brains for their stupid mistake, he’d never forgive himself. This was all their fault. They had been too cocky, thinking that Negan would be easy to take out. They had never been so wrong, and Carol was paying for it.

He was dragged from these thoughts when they heard a commotion coming from the compound. Sasha quickly passed him the binoculars and she picked up her rifle to look through the scope.

Something was happening inside, but they couldn’t make out what it was. One of the windows on the upper floor shattered and the flames became visible. This had to be her sign.

Rosita woke the others and they all tried to figure out what was happening in the distance. Flames could be seen from the window in one of the rooms, but they didn’t hear any gunfire or panic after the initial shock of the fire.

Daryl began to panic, “we gotta go! That has to be her, what if she needs help!”

He didn’t even wait for the others to agree before he started to run towards the compound. Their run came to an abrupt end when a fireball erupted into the sky.

“Now that seems more like Carol,” Daniel laughed and gave a little, “woot” in celebration as he watched the compound explode into flame.

“Where is she?!” Daryl yelled, “what way would she go?”

They were beginning to get a little worried as they watched the flames grow. They couldn’t just go running into the burning building to search for her, but they couldn’t just leave her, so they spread out and the searched the area.

“We got company!” Rosita yelled to the others as she saw headlights quickly approaching along the little dirt road, “get ready!”

They couldn’t let whoever it was get away, so they took positions in the middle of the road with their guns raised and fired off a few warning shots to alert the driver. If this was Negan, he wasn’t leaving that truck alive.

“Not the welcome I was hoping for,” Carol stuck her head out the window and yelled at the group, “hop in, we gotta check for stragglers!”

“Nice, subtle signal there, Carol!” Daniel was laughing as he approached the truck, stuck his arm in the window and hauled her into an awkward hug.

The rest of the group ran to the truck and Daryl jumped in the front seat to immediately grasp her into a hug as the others jump into the box, “time for reunions once we’re safe behind walls, pookie.”

Rick banged his fist twice on the roof of the truck to signal that they were ready to go, and Carol sped back towards the compound.

She had made sure that the trucks would be part of the fire so that the Saviors couldn’t use them as a means of escape, so she was expecting a few of the Saviors to be fleeing on foot to the other compounds.

They were quiet as they drove. Carol knew that Daryl had a million things to ask her, but she was thankful that he was keeping it in right now. They could always tell what the other was thinking, and right now he seemed to know that she just needed to focus on the task ahead.

She just needed to forget. Again.

That was one of the last conversations that she and Daryl had had before she left the group all that time ago. Back then it was the horror of Lizzie and Mika that she couldn’t talk about, now it was everything that happened since then.

When she was alone, she could internalize her pain and grief. She could take out her anger on walkers and just keep on living. Then, when she got to the Kingdom, she realized what she’d been missing. Having someone watch your back and actually care for you was essential to survival. She needed people. No one could make it alone anymore, and now her family was back.

She was hoping that the remaining Saviors would disperse and that without a leader, they would crumble away to nothing. Most of the worst ones were gone now, taken out by the fire or by the small group currently picking them off as the ran from the collapsing building.

After a few more circles around the area with no sightings of Saviors, the group headed back to the Kingdom.

Headed home.

\-------

Carol was immediately ambushed with questions about how she escaped and if they should start getting ready to attack the other compounds, but she just wanted quiet. Daniel had tried to get her to go straight to the infirmary upon arrival in the Kingdom, but she refused. She didn’t need a doctor, she didn’t need to relive the past few days, she just needed to feel safe.

Daniel, Ezekiel and the rest of the Kingdom’s warriors knew the plan, “we’re not attacking,” she sighed as Abe asked when they should head out, “ask Ezekiel about it, we’ve been planning this for a while now, and it worked out even better than I’d imagined since most of his best were at headquarters.”

After welcoming her home, Ezekiel decided to call a town meeting in the center of the Kingdom so that everyone could voice their opinions on what to do next. Security was their main issue right now, they needed to make sure capable people were constantly on watch, just in case of a retaliation.

She stood in her living room, still covered in Negan’s blood and feeling like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Her normally empty house was now packed with people, and every one of them seemed to want a hug, or to thank her, or to ask if she was alright. She hadn’t been alright for a long time, but as she looked down at Judith’s smiling face she was pretty sure that she would be getting there soon.

“Thank you all,” Carol’s voice betrayed her tiredness to the crowd, “I just need to lie down for a while.”

Glenn walked to her and grasped her shoulder, “Maggie’s in your room, complaining about bedrest,” they smiled at each other as he continued, “the one across the hall is empty though, most of us have been staying together down here,” he gestured to the living room that was packed with mattresses, blankets and pillows.

“Rest,” Rick came to take Judith from her arms, “we’ll head out to Ezekiel’s meeting, but we’ll be here when you want to talk. We’re just glad you’re back safe.”

Everyone started to leave but she could see Daryl chewing on the skin of his thumb, suggesting that he was thinking hard about something. He wasn’t leaving this house and she knew it.

“Daryl,” his head shot up and he moved towards her as Rick gave Michonne a knowing smile and shut the door behind them as they left.

“Could you stay?” She hated the sound of her own voice in that instant. She sounded tired and weak, and she felt it too, “I just…I don’t think I can be alone right now.”

“Course I will,” Daryl placed him arm around her and squeezed her to him gently, “I ain’t letting you outta my sight ever again.”

She nodded in appreciation and gave him a warm smile as she felt herself melt into his arms.

\------

She had only been with Negan for five days, but that was five days of hell. Five days of living like she used to all those years ago with Ed. She never wanted to go back to that life ever again, and doing so had made her revisit too many memories that she hoped she had erased.

Now she was lying in bed, back in the relative safety of the Kingdom and Daryl was beside her. She never thought she would feel this safe ever again.

“I know you don’t wanna talk right now, but I gotta ask, why’d you leave?” They were both lying on top of the covers next to each other, her head on his chest. It seemed that nothing had changed, even in her absence.

After she had changed into some less-bloody clothing and sat on the bed, Daryl had immediately joined her. She had expected him to be a little angry at her, but it seemed that nothing had changed. It was just as it had been back at the prison and again while they were on the run after Terminus.

She let out a sigh, “I couldn’t watch anyone else die. I thought it would be easier if I was on my own, but I was wrong,” she refused to look up at him and instead burrowed closer to his side.

His arm tightened around her, “damn right you were wrong, you belong with us, with me,” she nodded into his chest, “you know I’m not gonna let you outta my sight, right? Your little bodyguards are gonna have to get used to it.”

She smirked, “don’t be mean, they’re my family too,” she yawned and Daryl shifted down a little to make himself more comfortable.

“Yeah, well, little ginger guy needs to back off,” Carol let out a loud laugh at this that caused the bed to shake.

“Daniel?” she asked between chuckles once her breath returned, “he’s like my little brother. Reminded me a lot of Glenn actually, that’s one of the reasons I trusted him enough to come back here.”

They lay in silence for a few minutes, but Daryl couldn’t stop thinking, “You’re ok, right? Negan seemed too interested in you, but he didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Carol didn’t want to relive those days ever again, “It was nothing I couldn’t handle, Daryl. I swear. I’m not fine, not at all, but I’ll come back from this.”

“I’m here,” he laced her fingers through his, “don’t try to go through it alone anymore. You got me, you got Rick, Glenn, and everyone missed you like crazy. Just remember that you don’t gotta go through anything alone anymore.”

She tilted her chin up to look at him, “you guys are going to stay, right? I don’t think we’ll have much to worry about with the Saviors, most of them were only with Negan out of fear,” she paused for a minute, “you probably had a home back in Alexandria, I get it if you’d rather go back.”

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m staying right here,” he looked down at her, “had the same job as you in Alexandria, went recruiting for the community with Aaron. Couldn’t stay in one place, felt too strange. No place has felt like home since you left.”

He squeezed her to him, “I’ll handcuff ya to me if I got to.”

Carol wiggled her eyebrows, “oh, pookie, getting a little risqué are we?”

They both laughed, feeling like they were back at the prison, back before everything seemed to fall to shit.

“I missed you,” his voice was soft and sincere, “missed you making fun of me, and making me laugh. Haven’t laughed in a long time.”

“Me either,” Carol sighed contently as she felt Daryl bend to place a kiss on the top of her head, “I missed you too.”

Negan was gone, the Saviors were scattered and leaderless, and her family was safe. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time, and for a while she was certain that she didn’t deserve to feel good ever again. No more running. She could kill if she had to, that was the way of the world now. She had known this for a long time and was finally ready to accept it.

“I never told you,” Carol started as she felt his hand clench hers, “but I think I’ve loved you since you walked into Dale’s RV and gave me that flower,” she smiled at him, “the Cherokee rose, you remember? You told me the story and said we’d find Sophia. No one had ever done something like that for me before.”

Daryl just squeezed her hand a little tighter, “I knew the second you brought me dinner at Hershel’s, back when he had to stitch me up. You told me that I was good. No one had ever said something like that to me.”

He looked down and smiled, “I wasn’t sure it was love, not sure I ever really felt that for someone before. Hard to put a name to a feeling if you’ve never felt it, but then you kept checking up on me and I realized that you cared,” Carol was sure that this was the most Daryl had ever spoken about his feelings, “no one ever cared bout me, no one but Merle.”

“I yelled at you, called you a bitch and you still kept an eye on me,” he chuckled, “you confused the hell outta me, and then I realized that I just wanted ya around.”

They sat together in silence for a while after their declarations. Simply holding each other close.

Daryl brought their joined hands to his mouth and gave it a soft kiss, “I love ya.”

When he looked down he saw that she had fallen asleep tucked to his side. Daryl hadn’t felt this good in a long time. He finally realized why nothing ever felt right, none of the potential safe-havens had felt like home, because his home was right here, curled against him with her head gently over his heart.


End file.
